Hamilton abruptly put the brakes on while driving behind the safety car, with Vettel bumping into the back of the Mercedes and causing damage to his Ferrari.

At the start Kimi Raikkonen made contact with Hamilton's team-mate Valtteri Bottas, and after three safety cars, the Force Indias of Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon crashed into each other while fighting for third spot.

When the red flag was waved after 22 laps, five cars had already retired, including Raikkonen and Perez.